Arizona Cardinals have tough AFC East test coming out of bye week

5-2 is a great start to the 2020 NFL season for the Arizona Cardinals.

However, the back half of the schedule will really tell us what this team is and how close they are to being not just a playoff team, but a contender.

It starts with three of their first four games against the AFC East, which has really changed as a division.

Let’s take a look at the AFC East.

11-8 v Miami Dolphins - (4-3)

Offensive ppg - 26.9 (11th)

Defensive ppg - 18.6 (1st)

The Dolphins have won three in a row and four of their last five. In two of their losses they have given up 31 points. In the other five games they have given up 21 or less points per game. They’ve given up 68 points in five games and 62 in two other games (both losses). The Dolphins have a really good defense and will give the Cardinals a great test coming off their bye week.

11-15 v Buffalo Bills - (6-2)

Offensive ppg - 24.8 (19th)

Defensive ppg - 24.9 (15th)

Bills have come back to earth after a hot start. They went 4-0 averaging nearly 31 points per game while giving up 25 points per game. Since then, they are 2-2 and scoring 19 points per game while giving up the same 25 points per game.

11-29 @ New England Patriots - (2-5)

Offensive ppg - 19.4 (29th)

Defensive ppg - 23.9 (12th)

The reality for the Patriots is they are not good this season. However, their defense still is good enough, but their offense has been awful. We will see how things change if they get healthy.

The Arizona Cardinals sit at 5-2 and 1-0 against the AFC East. What do you expect their final record to be against the AFC East?

I would like to see the Cardinals finish 3-1 against the AFC East. With Buffalo, Miami and New England all being beatable teams, there should be no reason they can’t finish strong and come out with a winning record. If they finish at 3-1 against the AFC East they’ll put themselves in a good position because they have two games left against the NFC East as well. Something we’ll look at tomorrow.